A Lifetime
by screwrulenumber12
Summary: He couldn't take it anymore. A short Tiva one-shot, enjoy!


**Hey guys, just a little one-shot I've been thinking about writing. Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks - Jess :)**

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Timing can be a bitch, right? You wait for what feels like a lifetime for something, something that's worth waiting for, and right at the last second when you feel like you're about to get somewhere, you end up right back at square one. At least, that's how Tony DiNozzo was feeling after finding out about his partner's upcoming date.

"A date. A _date._ Who even is this guy? What do we know about him? What interest does he have in Ziva? I'm gonna run a background check on h..."

"Tony, stop. You're acting.. a little crazy. So what if Ziva has a date? You're her friend, you're supposed to be happy for her, to support her!" McGee looked exasperated as he glanced over at his friend, who was pacing back and forth from his desk. "Besides, they could just be old friends. It could be a woman, for all you know! Ziva going out to dinner doesn't automatically mean it's a big romantic date, Tony!"

"An old friend? Get your head out of the Dark Ages, McGoo. No guy just meets up with a girl for dinner on a Friday night without it being something significant."

"But you and Ziva have been out for Friday night dinner plenty of times Tony. Are you two something significant?" McGee's face turned to a teasing smile.

"That's beside the point, it's not mine and Ziva's relationship that's being called into question here! I just don't feel comfortable with her going off on a date with some guy that I don't know! Or don't you remember last time?" Tony shuddered as he inadvertently allowed himself to remember Ziva's one night stand with Adam Eshel while in Israel burying her father. He'd been crushed. He'd felt like he was really starting to get through to her, to break down those barriers that had been put up as defenses from her emotions so many years ago, and then she went and did that. Not that he was blaming her, he understood that she'd been feeling lonely and vulnerable and needed comfort, but if she needed company for a night, why wouldn't she want him? Tony's thoughts were suddenly interrupted with a third voice joining in the conversation.

"Are you two done discussing my private life, or shall I come back later?" Ziva's eyes flashed from McGee to Tony, before a smile started to play on her lips.

Her smile. Tony could write a sonnet about that single smile, 500 watts of pure unadulterated charm and beauty. That smile could stop traffic. It could make grown men's hearts skip full beats, hell, it'd made his own heart do that plenty a time. And here it was, pointed directly at him.

"We were just.. Uh... Nevermind. I gotta go..." Tony struggled for words, feeling embarrassed at how much Ziva may have heard of his blatant jealousy.

"Bury your feet in the sand?" Ziva teased.

"Head. He has to go bury his head in the sand." McGee corrected Ziva, taking obvious pleasure from Tony's awkwardness.

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A little while later, while Tony was sitting on the men's bathroom floor, trying to gain the courage to go outside to rejoin Ziva and McGee, he heard the door creak open.

"Miss David, we have to stop meeting like this." Tony's garbled attempt at not losing face appeared to work, and Ziva looked at him suggestively for a few seconds before crossing to join him on the floor.

"Mr DiNozzo, I am sure that the pleasure is all mine." Ziva poked Tony playfully on the chest, obviously sensing his discomfort. "Now, are you going to tell me what was going on out there? What has been going on with you lately? You are acting very awkward and uncomfortable and.. childish. Well, more than normal at least. Is something wrong?" Ziva's face seemed poised with concern.

"It's just," Tony started, trying to find the right words. "You, going on dates, meeting guys, I don't need to hear about that."

"Why, are you jealous?" Ziva smirked, her face then changing when she saw the cringe go across Tony's face. "You are jealous. Of me going to dinner? Tony, this guy is just an acquaintance. He doesn't mean nearly as much to me as, well, as other people. I would never want to severe any ties i had with other people if I thought that they existed. Is that true? Do I have other options? Other men?"

"You know what, Ziva. I'm jealous. I admit it. I thought that finally, _finally, _after 8 years of this.. incessant torture, you and I might be able to start something. To make a go of it. I just about managed to get over the Adam of it all, which I still understand fully, but now this only a little while later?! This is too much for me to handle. And I know that I've been acting differently lately, but this has been getting too much for me. I don't know what's wrong with me! I've never felt this way before! I've never felt so much for a person that every action I do seems to be dictated by how it could possibly affect them, even my damn coffee order makes me think of you! It kills me to hear you talking about other guys.. other men, when you could be with me. I would give anything to be with you, and you can't see it. So, uh, yeah. That's what's wrong." Tony felt more awkward and nervous than he ever had in his entire life, before a few seconds later Ziva moved towards him, her lips meeting his in the smallest, sweetest kiss.

"Tony, I.. I have always felt that way about you. Do you remember what I said during the mole investigation? That I was tired of pretending? That was not a joke. And it has been 4 years since then. If only either of us had had the courage, or the timing, to be able to say something before. Maybe things would be a lot different between us now." Ziva rested her forehead against Tony's, staring deeply into his eyes. Tony lifted his hand and softly grazed it against his partner's face, running it down her cheek before resting it on the side of her neck and pulling her into a long hard kiss.

All of the tension, all seven years of pain and angst and suffering and pure _waiting_ had lead to this. This fantastic, earth shattering kiss. While Tony's hands wandered around her neck and back, Ziva's locked firmly around Tony's shoulders, a small uncharacteristic giggle escaping her as she realized the full weight of what was happening. This was it. This was them. Tony pulled his face away from Ziva's, and drew himself to his feet before lowering his hand to help her.

"I've waited a lifetime for this, Ziva. But you know what? It was worth every second."

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**Ta-daa! The end :)**


End file.
